X4v2 Engine Independent Certified Testing at Orbital - 31/03/2008

We modified the X4v2 engine to increase fuel efficiency focusing around the 2,000rpm range where most driving occurs, then sent the engine to Orbital Australia Pty Ltd for independent Certified testing. After the engine was setup on their dynamometer, Brad travelled to Orbital for the testing. We tested the engine under the standard air/fuel ratio of 14.5:1 and also at our desired air/fuel ratio of 15.2:1 which maximizes the efficiency of the current configuration.

The Directors are pleased to announce that the X4v2 petrol engine achieved a repeatable Brake Specific Fuel Consumption (BSFC) figure of 212g/kW-h (38.6% engine efficiency) with a best figure of 207g/kW-h (39.5%) at our requested target test of 2,000rpm with a BMEP load of 450kpa (approximately 75% load) and an air/fuel ratio of 15.2:1 using 98 RON petrol and a 10:1 compression ratio. We also achieved a BSFC figure under the same rev and load conditions using an air/fuel ratio of 14.5:1 of 238g/kW-h (34.4%).

Please read the whole Independent Certified Testing Report by Orbital in PDF format

For those of you that don't understand what these figures mean, I will quote the following information on BSFC from Wikipedia:

"Brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC) is a measure of an engine's efficiency. It is the rate of fuel consumption divided by the rate of power production. BSFC is specific for the reciprocating engine."

"A typical cycle average value of BSFC for a gasoline engine is 322 g/(kW·h). This means the average efficiency of a gasoline engine is only 25%. A reciprocating engine achieves maximum efficiency when the intake air is unthrottled and the engine power is high enough to overcome its internal losses. For a gasoline engine, the most efficient BSFC is approximately 256 g/(kW·h) or an efficiency of 32%.

Efficiency is lower at other operating conditions. As seen above, lower values of BSFC mean higher engine efficiency."

to visit the Wikipedia BSFC Article.

As you can see from the above article on BSFC, we have beaten their quoted approx. most efficient BSFC figure of 256g/kW-h by a very significant margin. We have raised their "approx. most efficient gasoline engine percentage figure" from 32% to 39.5%.